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When she was a senior, Andrea McGavin ’04 placed her name on the bone marrow registry as part of the Student Volunteer Services bone marrow project, Project Life.

McGavin was inspired by former PC chaplain Rev. David Lindsey, who was cured from a relapse of leukemia in 1990 “through the miracle of a bone marrow transplant,” he said.

Rev. Lindsay implemented Project Life at PC to raise awareness about the importance of bone marrow donation.

“Before I learned about the bone marrow registry at PC, I really didn't know about it at all,” McGavin said. “It's such a simple thing you can do to help someone else so much, and in many cases it will save a life. Why wouldn't anyone want to do this?”

A year after adding her name to the registry, McGavin learned that she was a match for Caroline Manzie, who had been suffering from lymphoma for 13 years. During that time Manzie, from Wood Dale, Illinois, underwent her first transplant when her sister donated marrow. There is only a 25% chance that siblings have a genetic match with each other. The transplant proved unsuccessful.

Manzie also underwent several experimental treatments, which were unsuccessful as well.

“She was weeks away from death’s door when my name came up in the registry,” McGavin said.

McGavin donated bone marrow to Manzie in 2006 and was possibly Manzie’s last hope for survival. Although the two were not perfect matches, the transplant was a success.

“I learned when I met Caroline that I wasn’t even a 100% match—only 80%,” McGavin said. “But they took a chance, and we came out lucky.”

McGavin and Manzie met last fall at the University of Loyola’s Cardinal Bernadin Cancer Center in Maywood, Illinois. There, a crowd of nearly 400 transplant patients celebrated the 20th year of the Bone Marrow Transplantation Program.

“I was never so excited to meet someone,” McGavin said. “After two years of only knowing this person’s name and nothing else about her, it was incredible to finally meet her in person.

“We’ll always be a part of each other’s life,” McGavin added. “We’re already making plans for four years down the road – my 30^th and her 50^th birthday.”

Now a marketing executive in Norfolk, Virginia, McGavin majored in Spanish and minored in business administration, media studies, and psychology. She was involved with SVS, volunteering with Thornwell Dance and with the Afterschool program.

She also served as the ZTA president and on the Student Alumni Council and the Greek Advisory Board. Among her other activities, McGavin served as a Freshman Orientation Guide and as a Stirling.